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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nLast month I had the privilege of attending the Precision Dairy Farming Conference with my co-worker, Amos Fisher, in Rochester, Minnesota. With over 20 countries in attendance, the meeting covered the most relevant research in today\u2019s precision dairy technology from across the world, as well as speculations of what the future of our industry may look like in terms of automation and technology. I recognize that I am extremely lucky to be exposed to this information and given the opportunity to attend these events. For that reason, I wanted to use this platform to help bring the information back to the grassroots of our industry – and that\u2019s you, the farmer. I believe it\u2019s important for the industry to be thinking about the future, and even more important, for farmers to be thinking about it. You need to use your voice to share your wants and needs in order to improve your operation. It is equally important that we all keep our eyes to the possibilities of the future so that we remain excited and engaged in our industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conference was kicked off by Aidan Connolly, President\nof AgriTech Capital, with his presentation, \u201cThe New Digital World of Dairy\nFarming- Bridging the Data Gap\u201d. Aidan started by acknowledging the technology\ncurrently in the industry by recognizing various sensors (for rumination, SARA,\nmastitis, eating time, etc.) as well as robotic technology (for milking, barn\ncleaning, feed pushing, etc.). He outlined how the industry has improved upon\nthese technologies by incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) software which\nprovides \u201cproducers early, proactive solutions to potentially concerning\nproblems.\u201d For our Lely users, AI has impacted us by helping us to make sense\nof all the 125 data points we get every time a cow goes through the robot.\nThink of the Health Report, which uses an algorithm to put all the sensors\ntogether and more easily identify potentially sick cows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The possibilities of future technology were also brought up.\nAidan shared how drones could assist in scouting fields and viewing grazing\nherds. He talked of farmers using 3D printing machines to print machinery\nparts, how block chain technology will likely affect the dairy industry, and\nhow augmented reality could give us even faster access to information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many presenters, including dairy producers, spoke at the\nconference. I could go on for much longer trying to recap everything that was presented.\nAs thrilling as the conjecture of future technology in the industry is, one\nquestion seemed to continually arise: How will these technologies combine to\nwork together in one simple user interface? Is that possible? In my opinion, I\nhope that is where the future leads. I hope farmers can use one app that will\nallow them to analyze all of their data in one place. I think the future will involve\nbeing able to check soil sensors in the field, get alerts to the best planting\ntime based on soil conditions and predicted weather for the day, check which\ncows are in heat by interfacing with their sensor technology, see which cows\nmay be coming down with a health attention in the next week, analyze the ration\nprecision, and more. If we can\u2019t find a way to incorporate all of this data\ntogether to make it simple and easily understood, not to mention financially feasible, it will not be utilized\nby dairy producers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you can see, we still have a lot of progress to make! I\ndon\u2019t believe the day will come where we lose our need for good cow people and\nsmart managers. However, as Aidan also concluded, these technologies \u201cwill\nallow farmers to bridge the data gap and improve dairy production through\ndigitization, and the winners will be those who embrace this disrupted digital\ndairy landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"